Massachusetts started 2025 scrambling for a replacement to the voter-overturned MCAS graduation standard, and after months of looking for new standards, a first look at a replacement began to take shape as the year came to a close. Voters threw out the long-contested MCAS graduation requirement — a staple of the state’s public schools since 2003 — in the November 2024 general election, passing the teachers union-backed Question 2 with nearly 60% of the vote. Students would continue to take the test as a diagnostic tool, but graduation standards were to be set by local school districts based on the “completion of coursework,” the ballot question stated. By the next day, the state education department released its first guidance on new the graduation standard — referred to as a competency determination (CD) — for districts, saying students who had not passed the MCAS would be eligible to graduate based on the the local districts’ coursework standards as of 2025. DESE stated on Nov. 7 that more detailed guidance on certification would be “forthcoming,” setting to work in regular meetings on new interim standards for the fast approaching graduation season. In her State of the State speech in January, Gov. Maura Healey looked to a more permanent solution, announcing a K-12 Statewide Graduation Requirement Council made up of teachers, colleges, employers and more to find a replacement for MCAS. “We need a high statewide standard,” said Healey, who opposed Question 2 during the campaign. “Students, families, and employers need to know…

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Massachusetts started 2025 scrambling for a replacement to the voter-overturned MCAS graduation standard, and after months of looking for new standards, a first look at a replacement began to take shape as the year came to a close. Voters threw out the long-contested MCAS graduation requirement — a staple of the state’s public schools since 2003 — in the November 2024 general election, passing the teachers union-backed Question 2 with nearly 60% of the vote. Students would continue to take the test as a diagnostic tool, but graduation standards were to be set by local school districts based on the “completion of coursework,” the ballot question stated. By the next day, the state education department released its first guidance on new the graduation standard — referred to as a competency determination (CD) — for districts, saying students who had not passed the MCAS would be eligible to graduate based on the the local districts’ coursework standards as of 2025. DESE stated on Nov. 7 that more detailed guidance on certification would be “forthcoming,” setting to work in regular meetings on new interim standards for the fast approaching graduation season. In her State of the State speech in January, Gov. Maura Healey looked to a more permanent solution, announcing a K-12 Statewide Graduation Requirement Council made up of teachers, colleges, employers and more to find a replacement for MCAS. “We need a high statewide standard,” said Healey, who opposed Question 2 during the campaign. “Students, families, and employers need to know…

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